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How Gavin Newsom’s Prop 50 is Reshaping California - For Better or For Worse
Jan 02, 2026
Prop 50 is redrawing California’s political battlefield, sparking new fears of gerrymandering, backroom mapmaking, and voters losing their voice. We cut through the spin to explain what’s really changing, who benefits, and what it could mean for competitive elections, election reform, and independent voters. Plus, Independent CA-40 candidate Nina Linh joins us to spell out how Prop 50’s map shifts are already reshaping her district - and her race.
Listen to this episode and more from Independent Voter Project on Spotify and Apple Music.
How Gavin Newsom’s Prop 50 is Reshaping California - For Better or For Worse was originally published by Independent Voter News and is republished with permission.
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Candace Owens speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at The Rosen Shingle Creek on Feb. 25, 2022, in Orlando, Fla.
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images/Tribune Content Agency)
How do you solve a problem like Candace Owens?
Jan 02, 2026
Candace Owens has a very popular internet show in which she trots out deranged conspiracies about, among other things, the demonic nature of Jews, the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk (probably by Jews and their pawns, in her estimation) and the allegation that French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife is really a man.
Owens is hardly alone. There’s an entire ecosystem of right-wing “influencers” who peddle conspiracy theories brimming with racism, antisemitism, demonology, pseudoscience and general crackpottery in regular installments. There’s an even larger constellation of media outlets and personalities who feed on controversy without ever quite condemning the outrages that cause it.
It’s appalling and reprehensible. But this isn’t really a column about all of that.
A foundational small-c conservative insight is, “there’s nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). In a time of relentless technological change, it’s understandable to think the utility of biblical wisdom has expired. But the point wasn’t about new things. It’s that human nature doesn’t change.
In 1909, the Philadelphia Inquirer helped launch a regional panic with a “news” series on the New Jersey Devil. The Jan. 21 front-page headline blared, “WHAT-IS-IT VISITS ALL SOUTH JERSEY” alongside a photo of “actual proof-prints of the strange creature.” The Inquirer and competing papers hyped the bogus story relentlessly, with reports of sightings, animal mutilations, etc. Decades later, former newspaperman Norman Jeffries admitted to being the mastermind of the hoax.
In a sense, Tucker Carlson — demon attack survivor and journalistic sleuth of cattle mutilations— is part of a long American tradition.
In 1910, newspapers floated the theory that the tail of the then-returning Halley’s Comet might release a kind of cyanide that, as French sci-fi writer and astronomer Camille Flammarion told the New York Times, could “impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet.”
The ensuing Comet Panic of 1910 sold a lot of newspapers, snake oil “comet pills” and even “comet insurance.”
The parallels with pandemic era cure-alls, phobias about “chemtrails” — which may destroy the cloud-seeding industry — and even the Y2K panic a quarter century ago should be fairly obvious.
In 1920, Henry Ford’s newspaper (nationally distributed through his car dealerships), the Dearborn Independent, launched its series on “the International Jew.” Ford adapted “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” forgeries first published in 1903 in a Russian newspaper. In 1936, Father Charles Coughlin launched his magazine Social Justice, picking up where Ford left off. It rehashed “The Protocols” and other bogus propaganda, including the work of deranged Jew-hater August Rohling, the intellectual lodestar for Julius Streicher, the first Nazi to be hanged at Nuremberg for inciting genocide.
Owens, like Streicher, considers Rohling a primary scholarly source.
This stuff seems unprecedented thanks to a cocktail of historical ignorance, recency bias and widespread distrust of elite media. But it’s also a function of technological change.
Monster sightings, baseless gossip, silly or sinister speculation and, of course, antisemitism never disappeared. The more harmless versions of this fare could be found in the checkout aisles of supermarkets for generations. The nastier stuff was relegated to obscure newsletters, AM radio and hard-to-find magazines.
The internet and social media changed all that.
In the 19th century, when newspapers and mass literacy converged, the “media” was an anything goes Wild West, with even respectable publications feeding readers sheer nonsense and literal fake news. (The Rest is History podcast has a wonderful series partly dedicated to how the British press helped fuel the panic over, and the legend of, “Jack the Ripper.”)
It took decades for professional standards and consumer expectations to reach a consensus about what was respectable and legitimate and what wasn’t. The new media landscape is a new Wild West.
A century ago, a primary journalistic-marketing technique was to seduce readers by releasing information — and baseless allegations — piecemeal, in installments. Come back tomorrow for the next shocking development.
This is the modern podcasters’ M.O. Sometimes it’s straightforward and episodic “true crime” style stuff. Other times it’s deranged hogwash, promising the real evidence (about Kirk, Jeffrey Epstein, Mrs. Macron, etc.) is coming — if the Deep State or the Jews don’t get to them first.
They feed the audience just enough to get hooked in pursuit of the big reveal that is never quite revealed. Mixed in is relentless gossip about how other personalities are responding to the allegation du jour or each other. It’s equal parts soap opera, conspiracy, gossip, taboo violation and fearmongering.
The market for such titillation and tripe never went away. What vanished were the post-WWII technological and institutional roadblocks to providing it at scale. Also vanished: the willingness of enough responsible people to condemn it.
Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast. His Twitter handle is @JonahDispatch.
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A scene of the United States Capitol Building, symbolizing the legislative success of the "Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act."
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From Living Room to Legislation: How Citizens Turn Ideas into Laws
Dec 31, 2025
The following article is excerpted from "Citizen’s Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials."
Most Americans don’t know where legislative ideas originate. They should be comforted to see the source: often, it’s them! Many bills introduced in legislatures are prompted by a problem, need, or desire articulated by a legislator’s constituent. The person will reach out to their lawmaker, explain the issue, and propose a solution. And sometimes, just like in the cartoon I’m Just a Bill, the legislation becomes the law of the land.
“The best ideas I get for legislation come from town hall meetings,” said one House Democratic subcommittee chairman. Building legislation based on constituents’ real-life experiences not only ensures the lawmaker is fulfilling a genuine community need, but it also provides the legislator with a story behind the bill. Storytelling in advocacy is a powerful tool for both constituents and lawmakers.
It was just such a story that led to the passage of new legislation related to helping victims of disasters and tragedies in the U.S. Such a scenario played out after the tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombing. On April 15, 2014, Manya Chylinski was perched at the finish line of the iconic race. In a split second her life changed when two bombs exploded, killing three people and injuring hundreds more. Manya counted herself lucky, as she was not physically harmed. However, in the days and weeks that followed, she was plagued with a variety of mental health issues. She experienced fear and anxiety and was finally diagnosed with PTSD.
Unfortunately, she discovered that while the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided services for those physically harmed because of the bombing, individuals with mental health issues resulting from the disaster were not assisted. She told this to her congresswoman, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts), who introduced bipartisan legislation to correct the problem. “When disaster strikes—whether it be a natural disaster or mass violence—survivors are often left grappling with lasting trauma that has devastating impacts on their mental health,” Rep. Pressley said.
Yet Manya’s advocacy for her cause went beyond just suggesting a bill idea to her member of Congress. She did podcast interviews and wrote op-ed pieces for her local papers. She teamed up with other national mental health advocates, urging them to add the Pressley bill to their legislative agenda. And she sought allies in the Massachusetts statehouse and state government executive branch, adding more voices to the cause.
And on December 22, 2022, the “Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act” was signed into law by President Joe Biden. The law expands eligibility for FEMA’s crisis counseling assistance, ensuring that people can access free crisis counseling and community care following traumatic events. “If we’re talking about these things from day one, more people are going to know that help is available if they need it,” Manya Chylinski said.
The legislation and subsequent grants have had a profound impact on the mental wellness of recent victims of disaster or tragedies. Communities have benefited from the new mental health grants, such as East Palestine, Ohio – which saw a train derailment in 2023 that released hazardous materials into their environment, or Lewiston, Maine – which in 2024 was victimized by a mass shooting resulting in 18 deaths.
Constituents telling their story and inspiring legislative solutions is especially important when interacting with new or freshman members of Congress. “A lot of our initial legislative ideas came from constituents, and it resulted in some of the most successful bills,” said a House communications director working for a first-term member of Congress. New lawmakers are desperate to make a name for themselves, and advocating a constituent’s cause through legislation is a perfect way to do so.
At a time when many Americans don’t see their government working for them, Manya’s efforts prove that citizen engagement can be a practical force for good in our democracy. Sometimes the government works just like you learned from I’m Just A Bill!
Bradford Fitch is the former CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation, a former congressional staffer, and author of “The Citizen’s Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials.”
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A visual representation of deep fake and disinformation concepts, featuring various related keywords in green on a dark background, symbolizing the spread of false information and the impact of artificial intelligence.
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Parv Mehta Is Leading the Fight Against AI Misinformation
Dec 31, 2025
At a moment when the country is grappling with the civic consequences of rapidly advancing technology, Parv Mehta stands out as one of the most forward‑thinking young leaders of his generation. Recognized as one of the 500 Gen Zers named to the 2025 Carnegie Young Leaders for Civic Preparedness cohort, Mehta represents the kind of grounded, community‑rooted innovator the program was designed to elevate.
A high school student from Washington state, Parv has emerged as a leading youth voice on the dangers of artificial intelligence and deepfakes. He recognized early that his generation would inherit a world where misinformation spreads faster than truth—and where young people are often the most vulnerable targets. Motivated by years of computer science classes and a growing awareness of AI’s risks, he launched a project to educate students across Washington about deepfake technology, media literacy, and digital safety.
The Fulcrum spoke with Parv about his initiative, Nacer, which partners with nonprofits and schools to deliver workshops and curricula that help young people understand how AI‑generated misinformation works—and how to protect themselves and their communities from it. Parv and his team aim to reach every young person in Washington over the next five to six years, a goal that reflects both ambition and a deep sense of civic responsibility.
- YouTube youtu.be
The Carnegie initiative, launched by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, honors 500 young changemakers from 27 states and Washington, D.C., each committed to strengthening civic life through hands‑on, community‑driven projects. Fellows receive a full year of wraparound support, including funding, mentorship, training, and access to a national network of peers and civic leaders. Within this national cohort, Mehta’s work stands out for its urgency and clarity of purpose.
The Carnegie fellowship amplifies this work, providing Parv and fellow cohorts with resources to expand participants' reach and connect with a national network of peers tackling similarly urgent challenges—from disaster recovery to youth caregiving to community health. The program’s mission is to cultivate civic preparedness, and Parv embodies that ethos: he not only teaches technical literacy but also strengthens the democratic foundations that depend on an informed public.
In an era defined by polarization, distrust, and the accelerating pace of technological change, Parv Mehta represents a different kind of leadership—one rooted in education, empowerment, and the belief that young people can shape a safer, more resilient civic future. His recognition as a 2025 Carnegie Young Leader is a testament to the impact he is already making and the promise of what he will build next.
Meet the 2025 Carnegie Young Leaders and their projects by clicking HERE. Please note that some fellows are not listed in order to respect their privacy.
About the Institute for Citizens & Scholars
The Institute for Citizens & Scholars cultivates talent, ideas, and networks that develop young people as effective, lifelong citizens. We unite the left, right, and center to develop breakthrough solutions that create stronger citizens in our country, and we bring these solutions to life by forming strategic partnerships with an intentionally diverse group of young people, scholars, and education leaders, and civic and business leaders—including the 27,000 world-leading Fellows in our network. Together, we're on a mission to ensure that Americans everywhere are civically well-informed, productively engaged, and committed to democracy.
About Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. Today, the foundation works to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for the issues that Carnegie considered most important: education, democracy, and peace.
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